Oscar De La Hoya has offered his take on Xander Zayas vs Jaron Ennis, which takes place at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn, on June 27.
Some have suggested that this is too much, too soon for Zayas, who, despite being the defending champion, is yet to firmly cement himself at world level.
The Puerto Rican claimed his WBO super-welterweight strap last June, convincingly outpointing Jorge Garcia Perez – a fringe contender – to secure the vacant world title.
This was then followed by a more impressive victory over Abass Baraou, against whom he edged a split decision after producing a polished display in January.
In doing so, Zayas became the youngest current unified champion in the men’s ranks, and has now admirably agreed to defend his WBO and WBA titles against Ennis.
Despite a lack of notable names on his resume, Ennis boasts the greater experience with an extra 12 professional outings under his belt.
Additionally, many would argue that ‘Boots’ possesses a superior skillset to Zayas, who has bags of potential but is yet to fully refine his craft.
In an interview with Sean Zittel, though, boxing legend De La Hoya highlights the momentum and style of Ennis as two important factors, while also acknowledging the manner in which he has defeated each opponent.
“Stylistically, it’s a great matchup. I think ‘Boots’ is very talented. He’s in his prime, obviously.
“[But] he’s facing a guy who knows how to use his distance and throws hard punches, combinations… He has the will to win. I think this is going to be a great fight.
“I don’t know who’s going to win – it’s tough to call – but you might have to give the edge to ‘Boots’, just because he’s on a roll.
“Stylistically, I think I’ll have to give a little edge [to Ennis].”
This represents Ennis’ second outing since moving up from 147lbs, where he became the unified champion with a sixth-round finish over Eimantas Stanionis last year. The winner will likely look to further unify the belts against fellow champions at 154, Sebastian Fundora and Josh Kelly.